UNICEF, Data and Analytics Section, 3 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA.
Child Helpline International, Pilotenstraat 20-22, 1059 CJ Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Child Abuse Negl. 2021 Jun;116(Pt 2):104757. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104757. Epub 2020 Sep 25.
Many of the measures taken by countries to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in disruptions to child protection services. Despite this, many countries have worked to ensure that child helplines remain operational, making such mechanisms even more critical for reporting and referring cases of violence and for providing support to victims.
The purpose of this paper is to document what has occurred, and been reported, to child helplines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study entailed primary data collection from child helplines and a search of media articles and news stories.
Child helplines submitted data on the contacts received during the first six months of 2020. Data on contacts related to violence were also available from 2019, and used as baseline. The media search used a combination of search terms to identify relevant articles and news stories published between March 1 and June 17, 2020.
Overall, the number of contacts to child helplines seems to have drastically increased since the beginning of the pandemic. However, the number of contacts related to violence has increased in some countries, while it decreased in others.
While a mixed picture emerges with respect to violence, the increase in overall contacts made to child helplines provides evidence that such services are a critical lifeline for many children and women during times of crisis. Child helplines should be strengthened; and child protection services should be designated as essential during emergencies to ensure children receive the support they need.
许多国家为遏制 COVID-19 传播而采取的措施导致儿童保护服务中断。尽管如此，许多国家仍努力确保儿童求助热线保持运作，使这些机制在报告和转介暴力案件以及为受害者提供支持方面更加重要。
本文旨在记录 COVID-19 大流行期间儿童求助热线发生的情况和报告的情况。
该研究包括从儿童求助热线收集主要数据，并搜索媒体文章和新闻报道。
儿童求助热线提交了 2020 年前六个月收到的联系信息。2019 年也提供了与暴力有关的联系信息，用作基线。媒体搜索使用了组合搜索词来识别 2020 年 3 月 1 日至 6 月 17 日期间发布的相关文章和新闻报道。
总体而言，自大流行开始以来，儿童求助热线的联系数量似乎急剧增加。然而，一些国家与暴力有关的联系数量有所增加，而其他国家则有所减少。
虽然暴力方面的情况喜忧参半，但向儿童求助热线的联系总数增加表明，在危机时期，这些服务是许多儿童和妇女的重要生命线。应加强儿童求助热线；并应指定儿童保护服务在紧急情况下为基本服务，以确保儿童得到所需的支持。
